Canoe Expeditions in Scotland

In this episode we are joined by Malc's brother Stewart to talk about Canoe expeditions in the wilds of Scotland.

This is part one of a two part topic where we cover some basics:
- Canoe vs Kayak
- Preparation and planning
- The importance of Weather
- Weather making or breaking a trip
- Safety and weather
- Yes, weather (Just in case you missed it)
- The  www.windy.com app
- Provisions and how much you can live off the land/sea

Stu also talks about the wildlife on show and some near misses and having a plan B to turn to.

If you have a story to share or some feedback to give just contact us at contact.unraveltravel@gmail.com


Our theme music is Traveler's Blues by Jerzy Gorecki from Pixabay (with licence)

https://pixabay.com/users/jerzyg%C3%B3recki-2233926/

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:09

Welcome to Unravel Travel, where every journey has a story.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

And yeah, so it that was kind of the 1B. And we may well go go there again. And if Scotland's not a goer, but Scotland's always the first choice. I mean what what you get there in terms of remoteness and wildlife, it's incre it's just incredible. Absolutely incredible. A sea kayak's your lotus and your and your your canoe is a kind of uh transit van.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Not my voxel, that's my workhorse.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

And of course, in a sea kayak, you'd have a you'd wear a skirt and it would be airtight inside. So no, no, you know you're whatever your preference really might be. Underneath that skirt, nobody can see that you're wearing a skirt. Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Is that it? That was short and sweet.

SPEAKER_03 1:19

Short and sweet. Just like one of us in this room.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

I'm presuming you're referring to Dave.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

That was that was from Deliverance. Deliverance, which is about a sort of wildly scary canoe trip into the wild. Have you seen it? Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Many years ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Well, actually, we should introduce Stuart actually, who's joining us today. So over to you, Malcolm.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

So that's what I was just about to say. Today we're going to be talking about canoeing in and around the Scottish Islands, canoe camping. And we have a special guest, my brother Stuart. Say hello, Stuart.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Hello, Stuart.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

How did I know you were going to say that? Predictable. Yeah, he's a West. And Stuart has been doing these canoe trips for quite a long time. How long, Stuart? Do you want to just give us a fill-in on the sort of duration of the stuff?

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Yeah, so I guess probably first went out in Scotland at any rate, 10 years ago now. Maybe 11. Where our first ever trip we did was up to Loch Shiel, where I went with a group of friends and also took my daughter, who was about eight or nine years old at the time. She's 19, coming on 20 now. So yeah, it'll be 10, 11 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

And what made you decide to do uh your first was that your first canoeing trip full stop or the first one up in Scotland?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

First canoeing trip in Scotland. Most of the stuff we'd done actually in our other brother's canoe was in and around just inland waterways in Lincolnshire. So the river with them. I'd done a fair bit of stuff on the canal. Well, we did, yeah. We did we did go on Lyath Canal. In actual fact, our our first wild camping trip was on was on Louth Canal, put in at Technilock and headed up river.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Wild can it is very pretty there, actually.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Yeah, yeah. It's uh I mean it's it's as wildish a place as you can find in in Lincolnshire, really, because it's in a fairly heavily industrialised agricultural landscape, Lincolnshire. So you just you know to to find a little bit of what I'd class as wilderness, you know, you really have to get on the water.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Yeah, we were big upping the the uh Lincolnshire Worlds in the last couple of episodes so for long distance walking routes, but obviously not so much in terms of canoeable, navigable rivers. If we start there, loud navigation canal, techni lock, you wouldn't want to have been canoeing through it in the last week. I've seen the pictures of the amount of water heading out of it. That would have been a difficult paddle.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

For sure. Actually, really relevant to probably what we're gonna go on to talk about in terms of when you choose to paddle is extremely significant, particularly when you're doing it with youngsters and indeed other adults who are dependent on decisions that you make. So you've got to have a real keen eye on the weather and on tidal conditions in terms of what the tide's doing, but also the sea state where the wind's coming from, offshore, onshore winds, really huge difference in terms of the actual speed of the wind might be the same, the strength of the wind might be the same. But if obviously if if it's an offshore wind, the sea state can be really calm, even on a very windy day. And so you've got to take a lot into account, and that that's something which probably over the last 10 years become more and more aware of. And indeed, sometimes we've actually cancelled trips because the weather's not not quite been safe enough.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

And so the first time you went was were you all a bunch of newbies and it was a bit sketchy, or did you have you always picked up from somebody that's known what they're doing beforehand? The the first time we went, we were very much newbies.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

We did take a friend of ours, uh Richard Limmer, with us. He'd done a bit of canoeing in actual fact. I think he's got a the relevant open canoe qualification from the BCU, but he kind of showed us the ropes in terms of the right strokes, J stroke, that kind of thing, talked us through safety. Yeah, he he was a very useful guy to have on board on those initial paddles, and we probably did two, three summers where we went up there, but did predominantly freshwater locks, which is obviously a whole different ball game. My kind of inkling was always to try and get out on the open water. I'm I'm somebody who likes to be out in the wilderness and away from everything, and to do that really in Scotland, you need to find to paddle out to these remote places some some of the most incredible beaches on the planet, let's be honest. But some of those you know, you you've you've you've got to get out on the open water.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Some of those freshwater locks, though, in uh over on the west coast, surely, or the less populated northern parts of Scotland must be pretty remote. You're not going to bump into too many people.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Incredible. The further north you go, as a rule of thumb, the quieter it becomes, maybe apart from sections on the North Coast 500. But if you get up to you know Loch Sheel and above there, up Loch Marie, up near Loch Torridon, that's a really good freshwater lock for canoeing, lots of islands to camp on. That's a that's a really, really good spot, and getting quite popular, I think. But when I say popular, you know, you you may bump into one other paddler if you if you're out there for a day. But for me, it's uh there's a bit of a lure of the ocean. I think just in terms of the wildlife, what you can see, the experience.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

What are some of the highlights of what you've seen then when you've been out paddling on the ocean?

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Oh, where to start? I mean, uh, probably on most trips we would see otter from the canoe. Seeing on its back eating, lying on its back eating. Well, that's the classic, isn't it? They're North American sea otters. Our Eurasian otters don't so they're eating burgers. So how do I how do ours eat? Don't get me into otters because otters is a different thing. Oh, please, Dave. Why did you do that? Jeez. Bloody hell. Uh but they they they generally patch fish, so they'll they'll swim out over a certain spot, dive down vertically, have a bit of a uh shifty around under the water, they come up with some other prey species, benthic fishes, that kind of thing. Or crabs, big fan of crabs.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

And crab can't beat it.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

But yeah, yeah, yeah, gorgeous, yeah. So we we see otters really regularly, sea eagles, white-tailed sea eagles. Yeah, we have been very lucky to paddle three, four times now with a pod of common dolphins, uh, which is incredible. We had a great experience this summer, myself and my partner Sarah, out in the mouth of Loch Kishorn. And actually, our other brother Graham was there as well for a brief period of time, and we paddled with a huge pod of common dolphins, and they're you know, they're coming underneath the canoe. Uh, you could virtually touch them, and they're quite inquisitive, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

So they'll come up to you.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Can you hear them just right? Yeah, you well, they they obviously they break the surface close to you and they just make this sound as they as they breathe as they hit the surface. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we actually got the when we were off Cornwall earlier last summer, we had the same experience with a pot of common dolphins off the lizard, and I actually had the GoPro and had that underneath the canoe, and you and you could hear that you know, you could hear those clicks and whistles.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I wasn't sure if you could hear it above the water, and you knew you could underneath it, but so you need to no, I've never heard it above the water.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

I think I think you've gotta you you've gotta be underneath underneath the surface. Were you ever tempted? But were you tempted to get in and snorkel? Yeah, very much. I mean, I'm I'm a big fan of snorkeling, but uh difficult to get in and out of a loaded canoe. Really difficult to get in and out safely of an open canoe when you're a long way. Yeah, yeah. If if if you're close to the shore, I'd risk it, but if you're a long way out and you get it wrong, getting back in a canoe, you can't alight in and out of a I would have thought the dolphins would have helped you get out.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

You know, you hear all these stories about that.

SPEAKER_03 8:57

Give you a Lego. I th I think it's just at this point worth rewinding a second for not everybody's I mean, we've established already that David's not particularly good with things nautical. That's it. Can you describe it? Can you describe a canoe and a kayak, Stuart, and just just compare them for the listeners?

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Yeah, so it in simple terms, uh a a Canadian open canoe is what it says on the tin. It's open at that, you know, so the whole thing. We're imagining red Indians here, aren't we? Yeah, so it's the classic canoe which you think of, and you can fit two to three people in one of those, you can load them down with a lot of gear. So it's our method of transport of choice when we go while camping for several days because you can take your little luxuries with you. They are not.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

How do your children feel about being referred to as little luxuries?

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd ever describe them as that. The only thing with a Canadian canoe is unlike a sea kayak, which is closed, if you roll a Canadian canoe, if you're in bad weather conditions and you roll it, you are not writing it again. You you're losing the canoe, you're probably losing all your kit. Worst case scenario, you're losing your life, depending on how far out you are, and and sea conditions and things. So sea kayak is safer in dodgy conditions, and it's also it cuts through the water more quickly. I suppose a sea kayak's a Ferrari. Uh Dave likes his cars, or uh what's Dave got? Lotus. A sea kayak's your lotus, and you and your your canoe is a kind of uh transit van.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Not my voxel, that's my workhorse.

SPEAKER_03 10:33

And of course, in a sea kayak, you'd have a you'd wear a skirt and it would be airtight inside. So you're not sure. Whatever your preference really might be. Underneath that skirt, nobody can see that you're wearing a skirt. Um so you wear a skirt, which is a thing that fixes around the the neck of the kayak, and it means that you can roll it and come back up and it's all skirt. It is, but yeah, you know, yes, if you're a tumor calling a skirt.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

So these are canoes, and do you normally go two people in a canoe and a load of gear, or are you yeah, so you'd go two people in a canoe, and then you would we load up using dry bags, they're roll-top dry bags, so you get all your kit which you need to keep dry in those dry bags. Really important to do that just in and attach it to the canoe just in case you do have a problem and you roll the canoe and you're able to drag it to the shore that you don't lose everything. So, yeah, we would generally take quite a lot of kit and essential provisions like wine, uh not whiskey, whiskey, yeah, definitely. Whiskey, whiskey and ginger.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Sorry to interrupt, do you catch any of your food? One of my earliest memories of you can't get a deliverer, can you? Well, true, but one of my earliest memor memories of stew was when we were on Tiarman and you hired a canoe, kayak, boatie type thing. I see that's why we're establishing principles, David. I know, exactly. Uh and he disappears off for the day with a fishing rod and then comes back with his dinner later in the evening, takes it to the restaurant and they cook it for him. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah. I I always take a fishing rod, always take a fishing rod. Um, and pretty much every trip. We generally go in July, August. We've occasionally gone in May, but in July and August, you're guaranteed to catch mackerel. Um sea bass as well, maybe. You can you can get pollock. I've never I've never caught sea bass a south coast thing, maybe in Scotland. So yeah, I mean, there may be some, but it's probably more south coast. And you're talking either on a lure or with feathers, and that that's really enjoyable to catch your own food and to bring it up on the beach and eat it. And yeah, I generally do a couple of trips a year, and it kind of varies a little bit who you go with in terms of what you eat. So if I if me and Sarah go up, you know, we'll relatively minimalist, we'll catch as much fish as possible and eat them. We we do we obviously take some additional food, clearly. It's a bit more of a relaxed trip in that sense. When I go up with a good friend of mine, Lee, and his son Harry and my lad Satch, we tend to take all sorts of incredible food up there because Lee loves nothing more than cooking in the wild, you know. So he'll get lobsters and we'll we'll get a fresh bag of mussels from Auburn or somewhere and take those out and cook them on the beach with us. We'll take our own firewood, you know, we're not stripping the area around where we stay of any of the resources there because it's a it's quite they're quite pristine the areas we go to. And it's really important to you know to make sure you don't damage any trees in those areas. I mean, Scotland is a pretty treeless place, it is it, as it is where we go kind of north of Arden American. It's one of the last remaining places where there's actual real wild Atlantic rainforest left in this country, so it's a very pristine place. So we we make sure we take our own firewood and are really careful in that sense. But the cooking's normally just amazing. If Lee does it, if I do it, it's quite basic, and if Sarah does it, it's pretty good as well.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

And so you can take camping stoves and stuff as well, I guess, and cook on if you wanted to, and probably for backup in case your wood gets wet. You can't strip the local area in terms of uh foodstuffs as well, like I was gonna say mussels, seaweed, that sort of stuff. Would you help yourself to that sort of wild foraging or would would you take it all with you?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

No, we will take some with us, uh obviously, like I say, but we'll also things like shellfish. So if there are mussels, if you find a decent muscle bed, which is actually rare, the places where we go, I'd certainly take them. But things like cockles are relatively easy to find, razor clams. If you use a bit of salt in a razor, you can you can tease the razor clams out, they're fantastic eating. I have to say, when I've been up there, we have occasionally. I hope there's no North West Scotland fishermen listening to this, uh, but we have occasionally pulled up some creole pots just to have a look at what's inside. We've always put the contents back, mainly because we didn't want our hands being fingers being chopped off by lobsters. But yeah, it's quite interesting when you look in those creole pots. And I I have thought about getting a Creole Pot take.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

But you're moving around though, aren't you? You'd have to keep coming back to it to check it.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

No, we don't generally. So, what we'll do is we'll canoe out to a location, remote location. I'm not going to disclose exactly where they are, because I'd like to details in the notes. Maybe I'd like them to stay nice and remote. But the places we find, we will tend to set up there. We'll put the tents up, leave all our gear there, and then you use that as a base for three, four days and do day paddles out and go off to little islands near there and snorkel and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

You're not driving into those places, are you? Do you drive you're actually kayaking in or always?

SPEAKER_00 15:46

And that that's kind of canoeing, David.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

That's where we try to establish these phrases.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Canoeing. Or kayak. We've used kayaks as well. In fact, sometimes it's a it's a multi-form of transportation. It's a flotilla. Take canoes and kayaks. A veritable flotilla. It's like the Spanish Armada out there.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Uh it sounded like it was remote up until now. This episode of Unravel Travel is brought to you by Chiltern Walks, Guided Walks and Holidays. Whether you're a seasoned rambler or just ready for a weekend reset, we'll take care of the roots, the days, and the little details so you can simply enjoy the journey. Chiltern Walks, walk further, breathe deeper, feel better. You can find a link to our website in the episode notes. You've been listening to Unravel Travel on Scottish Canoe Expeditions. How much planning do you do for or is necessary for a trip like this? I mean, it's it's not like you can just nip out to we've we've established obviously you're taking plenty of food, you can't just nip out to the shops. Uh, but I mean, how do you go about the planning of it? Weather, you said you can cancel trips because of the weather, so you know, just give us a rough idea of that sort of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

So, probably two weeks before we go, we start looking at long-range weather forecasts, and then you kind of you're on tent to hook sort of every day, check in, check in, check in. And then the closer we get to it, if it's looking like the weather's gonna be suitable, then we make a decision to go. We often don't pick a yeah, absolutely. We'll pick a window of kind of opportunity in the summer holidays and go right that two weeks there, we're gonna try and find four days and then go. So, for instance, last summer we were planning to a trip in the Moydart area, which is just north of Ardenamurken, and we didn't go in the end because of the weather, but the weather was fantastic in Cornwall, so we went down there instead. Bit different because you can't wild camp in England, as you're aware.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

But what we did do was find legally, well, ask for Landover for permission.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

What we managed to do actually was find a superb campsite down at a place called Porthere on the Lizard, uh, which is actually a diving site, Dave.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Yeah, a bit cold for me.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Yeah, maybe try suit, you'll be all right though. We went in the sea there.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Very thick wetsuits, apparently, to the business.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

And yeah, so it's that was kind of the one B. And we may well go go there again. And if if Scotland's not a goer, but Scotland's always the first choice. I mean, yeah, yeah. What what you get there in terms of remoteness and wildlife, it's incre it's just incredible, absolutely incredible.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

So, what I'm hearing though is the planning, please give it a little bit more details. But the the main thing is weather is so important, try and be as flexible as possible. And obviously, you've got an advantage that your summer holiday is like two months long, isn't it? Being a teacher.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Uh it's probably nearer five weeks, tragically.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Um, but there's a lot to oh that's the pot calling the kettle black, that is. Dave and Stuart arguing about who's got the most holiday blyming.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

There's a lot to cram into that five weeks. There's an app which I got a couple of years ago now, which has been really useful called the Windy app. Uh it's it's not what Malk uses after a curry, by the way, to check the curry strength. Um, but that that app has been fantastic because it it kind of gives you a it's almost like a heat map of the entire coast around the UK, and you can zoom right in. And obviously, the beauty you've got in North West Scotland, because it's basically like the Norwegian fjords, you have lots of sea locks running inland off the west coast. You can pretty much always find a sheltered place from the wind direction, which will allow you to camp. The only next problem then is do I want to go and do that if it's absolutely chucking it down? Because let's face it, it's Scotland that does happen. Although we've been incredibly lucky with the weather most years, and the other thing is wind, and the reason why wind is really important, not just because of canoeing, the midges.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Yes, yeah, you need a little bit of wind to keep the midges off, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Yeah, the ideal situation is an offshore breeze, fairly strong offshore breeze. So the sea is relatively flat. There's no long fetch on the on the wind like you'd get on a on an onshore breeze, but it's keeping the midges off. Uh but but where where we go, we because it's coastal, the midges are never horrific, but you will get them quite badly first thing in the morning and generally for an hour or two at evening as well.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

So if you're having a fire, that's going to help, isn't it? That keeps them away.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Helps a little bit, but smoking your eyes ain't great fun either.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

So, Stu, from what you've been saying, clearly weather is really quite crucial, and it's not like where you go hiking in lowlands or whatever, where if it's bad weather, then you get wet and you come back, you get dry or whatever. To what extent would you say that people should be doing this that haven't had any experience? Uh I'm kind of I it's a leading question because I think basically you shouldn't be throwing yourself in at the deep end, literally. And how would you build up to the point where you're in a position that you can do the stuff you're doing?

SPEAKER_00 20:53

It's a good question. And do as I say not as I do might be appropriate here because the the almost certainly Yeah. The the the first time I ever did it. Yeah, we're not covering those sort of topics. Yeah, can we talk about stick to canoe? Yeah. In in the sea. Salty. Yeah. Yeah. The the first time we we ever went offshore canoeing and followed a coastline and then were camped. I hadn't had any experience, so that was a learning curve. But again, I chose the weather carefully. And you can't go too far wrong so long as you're okay with the weather. We've had some experiences where we've been out, we've gone out, the weather forecast was great for three, four days, and then towards the end of that period, the weather changed quite dramatically. And because of the nature of where we are, there isn't really a plan B or C. It's a bit of a schlep back to the car, isn't it? Always, possibly. Always. And you can't carry your canoe and equipment over that kind of terrain. It's it's not possible. So we had a couple of genuinely hairy experiences, which I'll maybe talk about in a minute, but in terms of answering the question. I would definitely go with someone who's done it before and who knows the area because tidal planning is important as well. Because it's not just the sea state, but what the tide is doing, particularly if you're running in and out of sea locks where you can have quite narrow channels. Yeah. You can get some really significant tidal currents in that.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

You talked about the first guy you went with has got the qualification. And I think taking people into the mountains, I it I think it's less of a risk in the UK than what you're doing. But it's something that I do to some extent. I won't take people up routes I haven't been up. I'll only take them up the routes that are pretty straightforward. I'll go up stuff myself that is harder and more challenging and more risky. But I should imagine with what you're doing as well, it's sort of you know, you're putting your life to some extent at risk every time you go out there. So I think it's an important point about going with when you first starting, going out with somebody that has uh the experience, and especially as you say, the local experience makes a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 22:59

Massive difference. And that's why we tend to go to the same kind of area. It not only is it a fantastically beautiful place, um, but pretty much know that area inside out. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

And you'll understand the sea conditions, the the wind, and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah. And and when you I think there are people doing these uh trips, so people are interested, because it's certainly something I'd be interested in, but I'm there's no way I'm sort of going out on my own at the start. Or but there are people done in the past, David, and I will be able to do that. Yeah, but I've been kayaking around Oxford and all that sort of stuff, and I've been kayaking in the sea in Thailand and India, but you know, it it's slightly different going out on the British Ocean uh or seas. But there are organizations that do these as holidays because I've got a mate who lives in Oxford who went on the well, he's been on a couple of these Isle of Wight, I think he did around there, Cornwall area, and then uh Scotland as well. So, I mean that that is an option for people because I think it's quite a big step as a complete beginner, and it's daunting. Uh, I as I say I wouldn't do it, but if you were to offer, I I'd put my trust in you because I know you've got years of experience, but there are people that do it for a living as well, aren't there, that have got loads of experience. Yeah, and my early retirement plan.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

But look, Dave, you're more than welcome.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

I'm just hoping Izzy's not listening to this because you said that you and Sarah do quite basic, and I'd say when we re-record this, can you just say we do quite luxurious? And then we'll just I'll put that in the version that Izzy gets to hear.

SPEAKER_03 24:21

It's the glamping version, is it? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Yes, it's very luxurious. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

That's the version she'll get to hear.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

You are absolutely right, you know, you've got to be very careful with because other people are entrusting me, really, with my judgment in terms of weather conditions, sea conditions, and routes. And where when you're taking your own children, and who I mean, my son now is having quite an experienced six, don't you? Children, he's joking.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

He's implying you've killed off three. Malcolm knows my sense of humour better than Stuart does.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Riky, I'm just having a think now. No, but but you know, when you're taking your own children, uh my lad's quite experienced now, but he he wasn't necessarily back then. He's probably as good a paddler as I am now. Um, and he's probably better than Sarah's yeah, probably, yeah, better than me at most things. But Sarah's a fantastic paddler and also very outgoing, very gregarious, and and is prepared to actually put herself in a degree of discomfort and sometimes challenging situations, which and that's part of the journey sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Oh god, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

It's part of the reward of doing something. I think that's really, really significant to get through a bit of adversity.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

That's challenging yourself, isn't it? It's putting yourself out of your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

And we've and we've had some adversity. There was one particular trip that me and Sarah had where we went out from the singing sands just north of Ardamurken, and it was a great trip, actually, lovely weather. But the day we had to paddle back, it was horrific. There was a real swell, white horses on the water everywhere you looked. And we actually ended up portaging all our equipment for about two miles through Atlantic Rainforest to a place where the to Kentra Bay, which was kind of round the corner from where we were going to paddle, just to reduce the amount of stuff we had in the canoe. So we did a big schlep through that rainforest with all our gear and then had a really bumpy paddle out. But I'm so glad we made that decision to unladen the canoe. We also had a trip with Lee and Harry where there was a strong wind coming down Loch Aylor, and we turned into it, and the tide was going out as well. And oh my god, we nearly lost those lads out into the Irish Sea. They nearly ended up in the Outer Hebrides, those boys.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

Do you have a phone number for the uh Air C rescue on you? 999. 999, isn't it? I'd get a hotline, I think. I think a hotline would be helpful.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

But yeah, hey, it it's always worth it. That you know, even through the adversity, worth it.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

So that's a good point about contacting Coast Guard. Yes, it's a 999 call, but what's the mobile phone signal like out there?

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Well, funnily enough, the place where we camp, which is I don't think you find many more remote places on the mainland UK, there's a really good signal. But then you literally turn around the corner onto the North Channel Loch Moidart, and to be honest, there's no signal there at all. So it's it it does vary a little bit in terms of where you are, but it's probably better than you think.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

And actually, for it's worth noting for people that are going to put go to places like these up because like Snowden is similar, it's got no signal on it apart from really at the top, and I'm sure it's the same up in Scotland on Ben Nevis, etc. But the the modern top-end mobile phones actually have a satellite, emergency satellite phone on them these days. So if you are going to places like that, it's useful to make sure you, if you can, make sure somebody in the party's got top-end iPhone or Samsung or Google or whatever, just in case, because it it's it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, as they say.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Oh, absolutely, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

And a waterproof phone, probably very helpful. Yeah, yeah, true. Although although they're waterproof, they don't do very well in seawater.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

We actually use the phone cases to put them in waterproof phone cases.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

That's a good idea. Yeah, double bagging.

SPEAKER_00 28:13

Always a good plan.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

I I it's probably we've we should probably stop at this point and then uh have a second episode to cover more of the adventures of Stu. I think that's a good idea. Okay, well, thank you very much, Stu. Been wonderful having you on today, and we'll speak again.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

No problem, really enjoyed it. Thank you, fellas.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Cheers.

SPEAKER_03 28:30

Speak to you all soon.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Yeah, bye.

SPEAKER_03 28:32

Bye.